He keeps going and going and going

But there’s been a consistent face at Ames City Council meetings for the past three decades: City Manager Steve Schainker.

He takes his seat next to Ames Mayor Ann Campbell. It’s a seat and a job he’s held for 30 years.

Schainker’s job is to oversee the day-to-day operations of the council. He makes recommendations to the council and carries out its goals.

Campbell has been working with Schainker, both as a councilwoman and mayor, for more than 20 years.

“I think among other things, he is exceptionally fair and exceptionally ethical,” she said.

Growing up

Schainker, 60, grew up in University City, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Even at a young age, he was drawn to city government.

At 16, Schainker got his first job with the city’s parks and recreation department as a camp counselor.

After high school, he went off to the East Coast — both his brothers studied in the Ivy League, one at Princeton and the other at Brown. He attended the University of Connecticut while also playing offensive line for the football team.

After graduation and with his family still in the St. Louis area, Schainker made his way back to the Midwest to attend graduate school at Indiana University.

“I was basically a Midwesterner,” he said.

The hire

After earning a master’s degree in public administration, Schainker landed an internship in Kansas City, Mo.

But after two years there, Schainker realized he wanted to work in a city where he could regularly interact with staff and citizens.

“I knew I had to go to a smaller community,” he said.

In 1979, Schainker made his way to the Ames city manager’s office as an assistant. Three years later, after then City Manager John Elwell announced his resignation to the council, Schainker applied, along with 126 other applicants.

The pool was eventually narrowed to five finalists, all of whom, except Schainker, were city managers. He was also the youngest, just 30 at the time.

But Schainker was also the only candidate with experience in the city of Ames.

“It was an interesting vote,” said Mary Atherly, who was on the council both when Schainker was hired as a assistant in 1979 and as manager in 1982.

Atherly said the discussion the night the council hired its new city manager was lengthy before it was finally put to a vote. By a vote of 4 to 2, Schainker became, at that time, the first Ames assistant city manager to be promoted to manager in almost three decades.

“And he’s proven to be a good city manager,” Atherly said.

If the vote had gone the other way, Schainker said he probably would have moved on to another city manager position. Instead, he’s made his home in Ames.

“The council took a bit of risk by hiring me, which I will always be indebted to them,” he said.

Risky, perhaps only in the eyes of the council.

“I didn’t think it was a risk,” Schainker said. “I was confident I could do the job.”

The man out of the office

Not many people probably know Schainker as well as his wife, Candy, who has been married to him for more than three decades. The two met the year Steve had taken off between college and graduate school. Candy happened to be working at his brother Steve’s dental office.

“They fixed us up,” she said.

Eventually, the couple made their way to Ames when Steve took the job as an assistant city manager in 1979, where they’ve been ever since. Candy said Steve may look big and tough on the outside, but he is a very caring person on the inside.

“Steve is a marshmallow on the inside,” she said.

Candy said Steve is the most caring and “honest person you will ever meet.” She remembers a couple years ago, Steve got a call from an elderly resident. It had snowed here in Ames, and the snow plow had just gone by the person’s house, and it had pushed the snow in the driveway. So, Steve went over to the house and personally shoveled out the driveway.

“He wants to make people happy,” she said.

So what’s the lead administrator do in his spare time? Candy said he likes football and stays active riding his bike, working out at the gym and lifting weights. The two even take a step class together, where Steve is the only guy.

They’re also in a wine club and gourmet club, and they like to travel. Steve’s ideal vacation, is escaping to the beach, not having to be on a schedule and reading.

Even so, Candy said Steve is always somewhat on the clock. When the two go out, it’s not uncommon for people to come up to Steve to give him a comment or ask him a question about the city.

“That is the reality of the job and he wants that,” she said.

30 years, and more to come

Schainker attributes his stay in Ames to several factors. For one, he’s happy here in Ames. Some managers define their success by the size of the town they manage, and Schainker himself said at one point he wanted to end up in a city like Phoenix or Kansas City. But that changed when he realized a town more the size of Ames is where he could really interact with his staff and residents.

“Bigger’s not always better,” he said.

Schainker also said he’s been fortunate that although councils have come and gone, they’ve stayed relatively stable.

Campbell, the Ames mayor, said councils have respect for Schainker and drive and determination to make Ames a better place to live.

That’s what Assistant City Manager Bob Kindred said he sees on a daily basis while interacting with Schainker, council members and staff. Kindred has worked for Ames since 1980, becoming an assistant city manager four years later.

“(Steve) has established a set of core values that drive the entire organization,” he said.

Even after more than three decades with the city, it’s safe to say retirement is far from Schainker’s mind. Does he think he’ll be where he is in the next five or 10 years?

“I hope so,” he said.

That doesn’t surprise Kindred, who said asking Schainker when he plans to retire is like asking him when he plans to change who he is.

“This job and the service he gives the community is what defines him and is at the core of who he is,” he said.

The city’s undertaken a lot of projects during Schainker’s tenure: A new sewer plant, moving to a new city hall, new fire stations, a new aquatic center and now the water treatment plant. But that’s not what Schainker wants to be remembered for once he does finally call it quits. He’s not a bricks and mortar type of guy. For him, it’s about the people of Ames.

“I hope the No. 1 thing they’ll say is, ‘Boy, Ames is a great place to live,” he said.

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